Disease Expert: Ebola Vaccine Promising, But Outbreak Continues

Reports of progress on an Ebola vaccine are cause for optimism in the fight against the deadly virus, but while that research is under way, the difficult and costly work of limiting the disease's spread and treating the ill must continue full-force, an expert on infectious diseases told Newsmax TV on Wednesday.

"Although the vaccine research is progressing, the emphasis is on the word 'research,'" Dr. William Schaffner, a professor of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt University, told "MidPoint" host Ed Berliner.

"We still don't know if they work," Schaffner, past president of the National Foundation for Infectious Disease, said of one vaccine undergoing trials. "We don't know what kind of side effects there are. We don't know how many doses are necessary, and we don't know whether it'll work.

"Let's be excited about the research moving ahead," said Schaffner, "and hold our breath hoping for a good result."

In the meantime, Schaffner urged Congress to approve the $6 billion requested by President Barack Obama to combat the Ebola outbreak, especially at its sources in western Africa, where U.S. troops are already on the ground aiding medical workers in the fight.

"The president is correct about this," said Schaffner. "In order to protect our own population, we have to snuff it at the source . . . We have to chase it. It's going to take resources and it will take continuing sustained effort over time. We need the money. This is one thing I surely hope Congress can come together on and do the right thing."

Schaffner stopped short of calling the Ebola crisis in west Africa out of control. "That's a big word," he said.

"In some parts of west Africa, particularly in Liberia, we're beginning to get our arms around Ebola," said Schaffner. "We're reducing transmission and a number of new cases are diminishing while we're looking for them hard."

But he said neighboring Sierra Leone, another center of the regional outbreak this year that has killed almost 7,000 people, still poses "big problems."

There is "still rampant transmission" in Sierra Leone, said Schaffner.

"We still need a lot of work in many parts of west Africa," he said. "Some triumphs, some progress, but still a lot of disease fires we have to put out."

In the United States, a handful of domestic Ebola cases this fall stirred alarm, raised questions about national preparedness, and set in motion a mix of screening, monitoring and quarantine protocols aimed primarily at travelers from Ebola-stricken countries.

"The system is working," said Schaffner, adding, "It's not easy to do this. It's expensive and it takes a lot of constant surveillance and work."

Reports of progress on an Ebola vaccine are cause for optimism in the fight against the deadly virus, but the difficult and costly work of limiting the disease's spread and treating the ill must continue full-force, an expert on infectious diseases told Newsmax TV on Wednesday.